Not much has been written in the past weeks as we have all been
out and about. No down time for the wicked.

At the beginning of the month I went back home to New Jersey for
a 50th Anniversary celebration for my folks. A great time had by all. I was able
to nail Gordie down for 5 minutes to do the streaming video lessons for the drum
segment of the on-line video tutorials on the band website. Brother Donald had
already done the same thing some months back, but the tape was misplaced
somewhere, and had to be redone. These will all eventually tie in with the tutor
book we will produce as time allows. Drumming will feature 50 or so lessons, and
piping 100.

On July 4th Sunday, Kenton went up to Harding and gave a talk
and demo for the folks at Spring River Presbyterian church. All went well from
reports, and more band friends encountered. He had played a funeral nearby
in Cherokee Village the week before, and then provided all the music for a
wedding in Springfield, MO the week after.

On the 6th, I attended a Kiwanis club meeting with the boss, WB
Roettger. We seem to run into each other in the oddest places, as he is on the
road as much, if not more than myself. Met a lot of very nice people at the
Little Rock meeting.

Kenton and I played a few tunes for Cindy Chun's dad, a Wilson
BTW, at her house on the 9th. Our VP of Institutional Advancement Tim
Bruner asked if we would have a blau at the birthday party Cindy organized
for him. He and his wife lived not too far from me in Florida we found
out, and now live in Boone, N C, which is Granfather Mtn. country. Nice
folks indeed.

A small contingent went to Izard County for their Christmas in
July parade. This is sponsored by the local riders club (motorcycles), and
benefits the kids. Always glad to help in the regard. Boy howdie was it
hot though.

On the 15th Kenton played "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at the
Lyon Night festivities in Little Rock. This is for the Arkansas Travelers AAA
team. We had quite a few of the ball clubs in Florida, and they are a lot of fun
to attend. I stayed behind to work the troops at practice. Again, all went very
well. Some 150 Lyon alumni, faculty, staff, family, and friends were on
hand to enjoy the picnic and game. It was a first for both the Travs, and
for Kenton.

On July 16-18 we ran our first Pipe Majors course. The goal here
was to get some info across, and solidify ideas for recruitment, music
selection, tone and tuning, and ensemble strategies. This was a dry run for next
year's summer school here at the college. Pipe Majors from bands in
Arkansas and Oklahoma came for the two days worth of session on topics ranging
from recruitment to running effective band practices, to set up on competition
day.

The 20-22 was the IA (Institutional Advancement) retreat. We
went to TimberRidge Lodge, an outstanding facility just outside town. The
Pipers-Lers will know this place well, as they, along with several bands stay
there during the festival in April.

July 23rd saw Serge Kuzin and his lovely bride Holly at the EMS
convention in Hot Springs. Serge played a few tunes for them, with Amazing Grace
being the most requested of course. Serge has been on the pipes for about a year
now, and is doing great. A real musician.

Saturday, July 24th, my family and I had dinner over at Kenton's
house, with his dad Lenard doing the ribs on the barbie. Absolutely outstanding
food, with K Man's potato salad the usual big hit. It is always a pleasure to
see Lenard out from CO.

Derrick Williams and I attended Dr. Wayne Stanfield's funeral on
the 28th. He was a local doc from Newport, and judging from the turnout, will be
much missed.

Finishing up the month was the OSP&D workshop in OKC. We
had a band with only a couple pipers and no drummers when we arrived, and left
with the whole group playing simple 4/4's, and a new direction. Magic.
They should be able to field a competition band by the time of the upcoming
games in Tulsa come September.